JUDGE SPLITS UP SIBLINGS IN CASE OF CAGED GIRL

Janan Hanna, Tribune Staff WriterCHICAGO TRIBUNE

In a highly unusual move Wednesday, five children of a couple accused of keeping their daughter in a metal dog cage were ordered placed in four separate foster homes because their relationships with one another are destructive and hindering their emotional recovery.

Calumet County Circuit Judge Donald Poppy conceded that, usually, children removed from their home are placed with each other to preserve a sense of stability for them.

But he also noted a frightening observation: that some of the children have been mimicking abusive behavior they apparently endured or watched at their modest home in a small town 80 miles north of Milwaukee.

For example, the girl who was repeatedly caged has been the victim of taunts, threatening language and physical abuse by her siblings, according to testimony at two days' of hearings in juvenile court here. She is now 8.

"The other children treated the girl just as her parents did, as a pariah," Poppy said. "The kids are joining with the parents in continuing the abuse."

The children's parents, Michael and Angeline Rogers of Brillion, Wis., are facing separate criminal charges of abuse. The case is "like no other I've seen," Poppy said.

Poppy placed the girl with her uncle and aunt, Chris, 27, and Stephanie Rogers, 25, who had been caring for all the children since December. Chris Rogers, who told the judge that the girl was improving in his home, is Michael Rogers' brother.

The girl's 11-year-old brother, who walked barefoot to the Brillion police station on a November evening to report his parents, has also been subjected to taunts and physical abuse by siblings who blame him for their current situation.

He told police that night that he had been thrown out of his home without shoes or a coat, that his sister was in a cage in the basement of the family's home and that he and his brothers were beaten with a wooden sign post, according to the criminal complaint filed against Michael and Angeline Rogers.

As a result of the children's behavioral problems, the 11-year-old boy and his 9-year-old brother were moved within the last two weeks to separate homes, away from their sister and two younger brothers.

The 11-year-old was placed with his biological father, from whom he was separated at a young age after Angeline Rogers and the man divorced.

The 9-year-old boy, who was described as the "angriest of the children" by a representative of the Calumet County Department of Human Services, was placed in a foster home.

All the children had been living with their uncle and aunt until their behavior became too much for them to handle.

"I don't know if I've ever been required to do this before," Judge Poppy said. "But the psychological abuse inflicted on them is such that the court has to deviate and try something that will better meet the needs of the children."

The youngest children, boys ages 7 and 1 1/2, were ordered placed together in a foster home. They were described as the least affected by the family's destructive dynamics.

Poppy also ruled that four of the children, but not the 8-year-old girl, could be permitted to visit their parents. The visits cannot take place, however, unless the judge presiding over the criminal case against the couple modifies conditions of their bond, which currently prohibits contact.

Acting on the advice of a court-appointed psychologist, the judge said the children need to see their parents at least once for "closure," since they're confused and frightened about what has happened to the family.

The judge's rulings will be in effect for one year. At that point, the case will be reassessed.

Prior to the hearing, Angeline and Michael Rogers, who planned on fighting the district attorney's attempt to take away their custodial rights, admitted that the 8-year-old girl had been abused, that there was potential for the 11-year-old boy to be abused, and that three of their other children were emotionally abused. That admission, however, cannot be entered into evidence in the couple's upcoming criminal trial.

Because of the seriousness of the abuse they endured, the children are extremely angry, physically confrontational and fight with one another, according to testimony.

Together, they constitute a behavioral nightmare, exhibiting a group dynamic that is far from beneficial for their emotional growth and recovery, said Donald Derozier, a clinical psychologist who examined the children and their parents. Apart from one another, they might be able to recover, he said.

"The children are different when they're together than when they're apart," Derozier said. "Certain behavioral problems are magnified. Each of the children should be given a treatment program based on their unique needs."

The 11-year-old boy has "substantial negative impressions of his family" and has assumed adult responsibilities "beyond his years," Derozier testified.

The girl who was placed in the cage was withdrawn and fearful when she left her parents home in November, after the couple was arrested.

"She used to run and hide and cry whenever she heard a man's voice," Chris Rogers testified. "She wouldn't come near us before."

Now, she expects a hug all the time, he said.

In seeking to keep the girl with him, Chris Rogers insisted that the child was thriving--"gaining weight, getting taller, and becoming the little girl she deserves to become."

"We're willing to raise her as our own," he said. "If that means no contact with my brother, that's a decision we're willing to make."

Calumet County District Atty. Ken Kratz had cautioned the judge that by living with Michael Rogers' brother, the children might be vulnerable to threats and intimidation from their parents.

In a compromise ruling, the judge said the girl could stay with their uncle and aunt for three months, at which time he would reassess the situation and possibly remove the girl to an outside foster family.

All the children must undergo intensive psychiatric treatment, and the parents were ordered to take parenting classes and get therapy.

Kratz vowed to pursue proceedings that would terminate Michael and Angeline Rogers' parental rights over the girl, which could be done if the parents are convicted of child abuse or fail to diligently improve their parenting skills.

"It is my deeply held belief that these people never get to see her again," Kratz said. "She has a lifetime of treatment needs."

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MORE ON THE INTERNET: Read Bob Greene's columns about the Rogers case at